Military Helicopters

The ability to conduct a wide range of missions - ranging from troop transport, utility support and personnel recovery to armed reconnaissance and close air support in diverse geographies and climatic conditions while countering multiple threats, characterises Leonardo’s battlefield helicopters.

Leonardo designs its dual-use and high-end military helicopters to gain and maintain tactical advantage on the battlefield of tomorrow. The range covers battlefield requirements from dual-use rotary-wing aircraft such as the AW119M, AW109 TrekkerM, AW169M and AW139M, to advanced specialised helicopters such as the AW159, AW149, NH90 and AW101.

Each rotorcraft features state-of-the-art cockpit, avionics and systems enabling day/night operations in extreme environments with high levels of safety and survivability. All helicopters provide excellent performance, lower lifecycle costs and high levels of mission capability and flexibility. Large multi-mission cabins enable quick and easy reconfiguration and role conversion for different missions.

Fully integrated advanced mission systems, equipment and weapons, make each helicopter an operational system integrated into the modern digital battlespace capable of working together with other platforms to detect, identify, locate and deliver lethal and non-lethal effects against threats across multiple scenarios in a constantly changing operational environment.

The modern battlespace requires a latest generation combat helicopter capable of performing multiple missions ranging from air-to-ground operations through to close air support for ground troops, armed escort and armed reconnaissance. Rapidly evolving requirements mean that the ability to team with both manned and uncrewed platforms for network-centric operations is increasingly important.

Today’s combat helicopters must also comply with the most rigorous safety requirements, ensuring high safety and survivability thanks to an advanced integrated defensive aids suite, ballistic tolerance, crashworthiness and low detectability.

Leonardo will meet all emerging requirements with the AW249, a state-of-the-art combat helicopter capable of operating in a rapidly changing battlespace and combining advanced technologies, outstanding performance and high survivability, with low operating costs.

The AW249 is tailored to the future battlespace, fusing open systems architecture with growth capabilities, state-of-the-art communications and an advanced battlespace management system. The mission system will enhance situational awareness, reduce pilot workload and increase safety.

Deployed worldwide in the most demanding open ocean and littoral environments, Leonardo’s naval helicopters extend and strengthen maritime operations by providing true multi-mission capability. Leonardo’s rich naval heritage is combined with leading-edge technologies to meet the requirements of missions ranging from Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance (ISTAR) and Maritime Interdiction to Anti-Surface Warfare (ASuW), Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) and Search and Rescue (SAR) operations.

Maritime missions span the globe from the Arctic to the Antarctic, and to accomplish the mission, operators need not just a platform, but specific mission equipment and state-of-the-art avionic systems.

Leonardo helicopters blend latest generation platforms with advanced on-board systems that integrate military sensors, mission systems, weapons and modular role equipment, which ensures multi-mission capability from a single platform across the maritime domain.

The product range covers all maritime requirements with training-focused and dual-use rotary-wing aircraft such as the AW139M through to helicopters for specialised missions such as the AW159, NH90 and AW101. Leonardo also has an increasing capability in Rotary Uncrewed Aerial Systems (RUAS) through new platforms such as AWHERO.

Military helicopter operators, need to optimise the operational performance, safety and effectiveness of their fleets. For this reason, the ability to provide high quality, flexible training that meets the needs of the customer is a greater differentiator than ever before in the rotary wing sector.

Leonardo designs, develops and delivers integrated training solutions and services for its helicopters ranging from the live to the virtual training domains, spanning type conversion through to full operational and mission capability. Leonardo’s training platforms extend from the light single-engine AW119T to the light-twin AW109 TrekkerM and AW169M. 

Modern avionics, superior performance and a high-visibility cockpit combined with a unique central observer seat and spacious, readily reconfigurable interior, characterise the training product range. Meanwhile, a broader range of services such as ab-initio and mission training through to synthetic training reduces time-on-aircraft for customer pilots and enhances safety.

The company’s range of simulator-based training solutions is evolving constantly. Integrated training systems guarantee the highest quality at every stage of training for pilots, ground crews, operators and maintainers. The training programme is tailored so that the skills acquired can be transferred readily in the ‘real world’ to improve operational effectiveness.